Eating Healthier, Shopping Trips and More Tax Prep!

Hey Guys,

Most of you who know me in person know I can have pretty bad eating habits. With a hectic work schedule and just pure laziness it can be so hard to cook dinner and not order some take out or grab a slice of pizza for dinner. So, with this year's goal of getting healthier I've been putting in a little effort into my diet and exercise. It's been a bit of a slow start but I think I'm getting there.

First off, I'm starting to walk to work again with the better weather we're having and I signed up for yoga classes in the condo! Which, by the way I absolutely love! It's fun, challenging and it's a small class and since it's in the condo I don't waste time walking through the snow hauling all my stuff to get there. I also try to do yoga at home when I can to build up my stamina for some of the harder poses.

Second, Winton's also got us a Nutri-bullet thing, so we've been making some crazy healthy smoothies with carrots, strawberries, spinach and whatever else we can think of. The best part is most of them taste amazing! He specifically makes Julie approved smoothies with more strawberries so I can't taste too much veggies. I can't bear to do the protein powder. I have to draw the line there as it just makes me want to gag! Bleh!

Here are some of my attempts of having a better breakfast on the weekends. Omelettes! I love them! Drinking juice is just too sweet for me so I usually dilute it like crazy. I use a 20% juice to 80% water ratio. I just need the flavour.

I discovered spinach and I love it! I just love leafy greens! 

Voila! Tasty spinach, cheese and bacon bits omelette! 

Salads! Learning to love them! :( They are pretty good but I gotta be in the mood for them. Which is almost never but Winton seems to eat them more now so I just force myself to eat them with him. This rare time I felt guilty and made a huge one myself and chopping up the leaves instead of getting it out of the pre-made box. I missed judge how much salad you can get from a few leaves of romaine! Besides, if I'm eating that much I can afford to treat myself to a Barq's. 

Here is stuff from my last couple shopping trips!

Shopping Trip 1! 

- Crap forgot how much the cocktail sauce was but it was 20 cents cheaper than normal

- 5 X 2pk of Lysol for $2 each

- Pears at 97 cents/lb

- English muffins at $1

- 2 X Stagg Chili at $2 each (emergency work lunches)

Shopping Trip 2!

- Old El Paso $3 - $2 coupon from save.ca

- Egg whites $2.27 - $1 coupon from save.ca and $1 rebate from Snapsaves

- Plantain 67 cents/lb

- Hellman's $3

- 2 X Low Sodium Ketchup $3 each

- 6 X Broccoli Soups at 98 cents each

- Strawberry Cream Cheese $3

 - Halal Hot Dogs $1

- Sweet Potato 77 cents/lb

- Chinese Pears 79 cents/lb

- 2 X Blackberries at $1 each

Good news!

I'm over the moon that the condo I live in downtown finally gets the Redplum coupons! Now, if I can get mailed the SmartSource too life would be grand! 

My Tax Prep Progress!

So, I finally sat my butt down and started to crunch the numbers for all my expenses! Reading receipt after receipt is so painfully slow. Thank goodness for my iPad and the Numbers program. I love just typing it in and hitting "sum"! It took me a good part of my day to separate the HST out of my expenses and what I paid over the year. It's definitely a good reflection on the amounts I spend over the year on all that stuff. I'll go over in detail what I do in another blog poset. I'm just glad the tedious part is over with. Now, it's just the waiting game to get all my statements mailed to me and start up a new file in my tax program! Hopefully, I'll have an easy weekend to plug in a few numbers and get started. Being self employed can be hard since they don't teach us any of this in school. Let alone the HST form I'll have to prepare. *Sigh* First world problems!

Eros and Pookie

Shopping Trips and Preparing Taxes!

Hi Everyone,

I've been in such a lazy mood for the last few weeks with the winter reaching -30 C daily. I've done the bare minimum with couponing and price matching by just checking a couple of stores for their deals. I can't but help dreaming of hiding under my sheets until spring arrives or dreaming about a quick trip south to recharge and bask in the sunlight. I hope you guys are all surviving and thriving! And Happy Chinese/Vietnamese New Year!

Here's what I promised! My shopping goodies from Walmart after New Years!

- Kinder Eggs $2

- 3 X Christmas card boxes for $1.75 each

- Owl Gift Card Tin 60 cents

- 8 X Various Ribbons ranging from 25 cents to 75 cents

If you're a big ribbon user like me, I find it hard to find good ribbon for cheap

- 2 X Non-seasonally descript wrapping paper for 75 cents

One was a red kraft type paper and another a super glittery red paper. Best part was they weren't the dollar store kind and was actually a large long roll that is about 3 or 4 times more than what I regularly would get from Dollarama.

Two Weeks Ago

 - Turkey Pie $1

- Baby Carrots $1

- Bagel Bites $1

- Chunky Soup $1

- 4 X Blueberries $1 each

- Empire Apple Bag $1

- Country Harvest Bread $2

- Bananas 57 cents/lb

- Snap Peas $1.50

- No Name English Muffins $1

- Barlett Pears 97 cents/lb

- Field Cucumber $.97

Last Week

- Wonder Bread $1.97

- Dolfino Havati $2.97
Makes really good grilled cheese!

- Activia 12 pk $4.97 

Who knew you could buy all strawberry flavour! That is the best thing ever!

- 8 X Grapefruits 4/$1

- Old Mill English Muffins $1

- Potato 97 cent/lb

- Plantain 97 cents/lb

Sadly, it's that time of year again where the government gets their pound of flesh from everyone in the form of taxes! There is a good two months left to get your things organized and pay up what you owe without incurring penalties. I found the stress of doing this last minute isn't worth it and if you're getting them done by someone else you'll be waiting in a long line up at the mall.

A few years ago, I used to be terrified to go get my taxes done as my parents always took care of things for me. But, I knew it was time to grow up and figure this crappy life chore myself. So, after being hugely dinged in my wallet by H&R to do my taxes as a self-employed person, I vowed to never take this huge financial hit again for my ignorance. I signed up for the next available H&R Block tax course and sat through 7 hours of a double tax class on Sundays for months. I was so dedicated going to every class after having worked till about 3-4am the night before. I can't say I can do my taxes perfectly as I learned you can never know EVERYTHING about taxes but I'm glad to say I'm a lot more knowledgeable about it. I tried to make it my friend than make it my enemy. This one course helped me:

- Budget properly to account for taxes paid in April
- How I pay and keep receipts
- Organize my paperwork for taxes and remitting HST
- Force me to see what I spend
- Get me to submit all my receipts to get reimbursed from my benefits so I can claim the remaining amount I actually paid
- Keep me on top of my TFSA and RRSP contributions
- It actually saved me money! Knowing what I can deduct/claim and enrolling me in government programs like getting an HST Credit!

Taxes just seem scary because most people just don't understand them nor want to. Who can blame them, it's probably one of the most boring subjects on the planet! So, if you're like me and are self employed take baby steps and learn to understand how taxes work. If you're like most people I know and get a T4 from an employer, you can still benefit by learning to do your own taxes and saving the dough you'd pay for someone. Or figure out how you can make filing benefit you and your family.

Good Luck!

Eros and Pookie

Shopping Trip to Shoppers and Huge Sears Clearance Sale!

Hi Guys,

I scored some amazing deals lately! I got some post Christmas stuff from Walmart, which I forgot to take a picture of. So, maybe I'll post those at a later time.

Last night, I hit up the local Shoppers Drug Mart for some great deals! Check them out! I love using the gift cards and getting double points!

 - 2 X Royal Tissue Paper $3.99 and for each I had a $2 off coupon from GoCoupons, $1 credit from Snap Saves and $1 off from CartSmart. Essentially, I got both these boxes for FREE!!! 

- 5 X BioLife Detergent $5.99 each. Unfortunately, we only use this brand and it's down a few dollars this week and we are low. I'm still holding my breath for the crazy sale they had more than a year ago when they were $3.88 or something compared to regular $8.99-$9.99.

- 3 X Classico pasta sauces $1.97 each

- 2 X Colgate $.88 each

- 2 X Aquafresh $.88 each

I don't know if you guys are living around a Sears that is liquidating but the one here at Eaton Centre is have a massive furniture and merchandise sale on practically everything. I just went this morning and found some amazing deals! Unfortunately, I live in a small space and can't buy any big stuff like tables and chairs. But, I'm definitely going to go back after work to see what else they've got that could be useful! 

Picnic Table for $75! Wow! I wanted to pick this up for my mom but I think someone would jack this from her house :(

See ya next time!

Eros and Pookie

Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a great ending to 2013 and a good running start for 2014! I feel strangely tired and refreshed all at the same time! I've been keeping weird hours but I loved seeing friends and family during the holidays. But now it's time to face reality and gear myself up to head back to the office.

In total, I made three turkeys over the holidays! Thank goodness I got them all on sale! Sadly, the pre-made stuffing wasn't on sale too. They cost almost as much as the turkey themselves! I received this great turkey rub recipe from my boss that I loved, so I recreated it again this year. The secret to moist turkey is to stuff butter under the skin near the breast and cook them breast side down for about 1/3 of the time. The hard part is flipping over a super hot and heavy bird in the middle of cooking. I like to cover with foil so the top skin won't get too burnt and just remove when it's almost time to eat.

My raw turkeys

The butter!

I don't believe in buying fruit platters from the supermarket and prefer to pick and chop up my own fruit for my party. Why spend $20 on a fruit platter when you can spend much less and a few minutes of your own time to get 10 times the fruit. I'm also big on presentation and making stuff look as appetizing as it can be. 

 I also made fresh gingerbread cookies. Here is the slowest moving ingredient I've ever worked with! It took about 10 mins to get about 1/2 cup and cost me about 80 cents.

I'm so happy to now have a hand mixer! It makes life so much easier!

Using my cookie cutters for the first time! Everyone loved the Hello Kitty designs.

Tasty even without icing!

I also made my famous Skor cookies a.k.a. "Crack Cookies" as some friends like to call them.

Whole wheat flour all the way! 

Too much food!

I hope everyone has as much fun and food as I did this holiday! And I can't wait to write up some more money saving deals and tips this new year!

Eros and Pookie

Shopping Trips Nov 14th and 27th! My Virtual Brokers Account and Budget!

Hi Gang,

With the holidays feeling like it's just around the corner, it's been a super busy time here at the Nguyen/Wei house! After trimming down my Christmas shopping list to the BARE minimum, it's still about 15 family, friends, kids and business associates I still have to buy for. Ouch right? Thank goodness I've been putting money away each week in a fund for this very expensive time of the year! And I've been hitting the clearance racks and shelves for the past little while and scooped up some amazing stuff! At least for birthdays they are spread out! Ok, let's see what my shopping trips have been and talk about Virtual Brokers!

Nov 14th at No Frills

- Highliner Frozen Fish pm'd for $5.97 and had $1 coupon each 

- Gallo Olive Oil $3.97

- 3 X 18 bottles of water (left them in the car, way to heavy to carry up)

- Caesar Salad Kit $1.97

- Black and Diamond Cheese $2.97 and had 75 cent coupon

- Raspberries pm'd 2 for $3

Nov 27th at No Frills and Walmart

 - PC Tortillas $1.87

- Kettle Chips $1

- Neilson Milk $3.97

- Bananas $.57/lb

- No Name English Muffins $1

- 2 X Gingerale 2L Pops for FREE ( 2 coupons from T&T Nightmarket)

- Fresca and Barqs 2L Pop $1

- Hunts Sauce $1

- Apple Juice $1

- Nestle 24 pk water $1.97

- Miracle Whip $3

- 2 X Hellman's $3 each

- 6 Ziploc Container's at $3 each and had 2 coupons for 1 Free WUB2. Great for when we have family over for Christmas dinner to take home leftovers. Dollarama containers were more expensive and we don't buy styrofoam containers for environmental reasons.

- 4 X Maple Leaf frozen meat pies $1 each

- PC Blue Menu Alfredo sauce $2.50 

- Dempster's Bread $2

- 2 X Village Chicken Wings $3 each

- Halal Chicken Hot Dogs $1

If you haven't already own a PC Mastercard, you should totally get one! They are so awesome! I save up my points all year and by Christmas time, I get a huge family Christmas dinner for almost free! I have over $150 last time I checked to spend at any Loblaws or No Frills! In my non-budgeting days, I use to hoard them for when I returned after vacation so I would have food to eat when I was dead broke! Hahaha

Ok, to the juicy stuff! As a novice of investing, it is super hard enough to figure out how to set up an account with a discount brokerage, pick your stocks and get your portfolio up and running. I had the most horrible time working with Questrade to even open a damn account. The main problem was that I have two names! My Vietnamese name and my English name. On my government issue ID it lists both names, but on all my accounts I just go by my English name. Apparently, at Questrade they were real sticklers about having the full name and having it verified on every piece of ID I gave them and my bank accounts. It was a huge pain in the ass dealing with them for months and to be bounced around from customer service agent to another with no one wanting to help me deal with the situation and being clearly ignored. I even went to the head office like they asked with my ID's and even the receptionist said he has heard numerous times how bad their customer service was! My only choice with them was to change my name on all my accounts! Which, as a performer/self employed person who get cheques written in my English name is next to nearly impossible! Who has time to track down every person who writes you a cheque and have them write your full name! Plus, I'm the one who wants to give them business and invest my money with them! They have one messed up business model with too many flaws. The only time I heard from anyone after leaving several emails with different people and voice messages is when I emailed customer support to delete my application for an account! WTF! It was so horrible, I got so fed up and went over to Virtual Brokers who are so much better! They were more understanding with my multiple names as long as the address and names match in some variation, they said I was good to go! So, after months of struggle I'm happy to say I have all my accounts opened up and funded. I have my ETF's chosen and now I'm just at the stage of bidding on them. Their website is pretty easy to use but being totally new to the world of investments, it's not like you can just bid and buy ETF's. There are all these options and stuff you need to choose along with it which make it so confusing. So, hopefully I'm getting some help tonight on how to properly buy what I want. I honestly hope all this trouble is worth it in the end! Or I'll want to have kick myself really hard and should of went the easy route of buying those StreetWise funds from ING or something that's just as easy. Or even hire a *gasp* commission based financial advisor to help me out and get me started. 

Well, to leave you on a jolly note I hope you have enjoyed following me on my journey to financial wisdom, or somewhere around there! There is so much work that needs to be done budget wise before I can put my pen down and enjoy the festivities of stuffing my face with family and good friends! Since tracking my expenditures, I've been able to see what my income vs. expenses are from month to month and how much money is being spent on such categories like groceries, eating out, and etc. If you haven't started, you should give it a shot! The information you get from it is so valuable! I've been tracking for the last few years and I can see when my lean months are and prepare ahead of time! It definitely helps you sleep at ease knowing where you stand with debt and such. I've also adjusted my budget for 2014! It's amazing not to have an OSAP debt column that needs to be paid each month and that is higher than my housing cost! I love being able to allocate that money to my downpayment fun, vacation fund or other fun things I've missed out on while paying down the student loan! Eating out on a patio and spending money to do fun things with family and friends never felt so good when you are free from debt! And knowing that every dollar you earn is now yours and not on loan from the government or some other financial institution! 

Happy December!

Eros And Pookie

Shopping Trip Nov 4, 2013!

Hi Everyone,

My first real post since my trip to Hong Kong and Tokyo! It's been an exhausting time but one of the best times of my life! It was a two week trip in total: 10 days in Hong Kong and 4 days in Tokyo. All direct flights to lessen the pain of such a long haul to get over to that side of the world! Who knew I could fly 16 hours straight like a pro! I'll blog about my trip later in another post with some photos!

It took about two weeks to get back to our time zone and a super long time to get back into the groove of things with work and life etc. I was pretty beat! But, now I'm back, rested and ready to blog more about things that I love and not just shopping deals. It was sort of becoming a chore to get a shopping list out every Thursday! But, anyways here is what I bought this week! I also started Christmas shopping for our friend's kids so I'll be sure to post those up as well!

Walmart/No Frills

- Attitude Salads $2

- Whole Chicken $1.88/lb

- Tootsie Pops $5

- 4 X Pop bottles pm'd at $1.97 each

- Bartlett pears $.88/lb

- Broccoli $.88

- Wonder bread $1.88

- 4 X Heinz beans $.88 each

- Clementines $3.88

- 3 X Blueberries pm'd 3pks fpr $5

- 8 X Tetley Tea pm'd $1.99 each

- Highliner Fish $3.88

- Tylenol Cold and Sinus $5.96 - $3 coupon

- Oral B Automatic Toothbrushes $6.97 and $9.97 with two $3 coupons

My First Attempt at Home Made Banana and Apple Chips!

Hi Everyone,

So, I received an email from PC about a recipe for banana chips the other day and thought it was such a cool and easy way to eat bananas a different way. Here's what they looked like! Not the prettiest or the tastiest things but edible! I think I had put too much lemon juice, which made them kind of sour!